The Young, the Old, and the Diggers

This is D&D 5th Edition campaign set in the Forgotten Realms with an emphasis on the Underdark, by the Denton Gaming Group.

As a note: I am not the DM for this particular campaign; however, the DM has asked me to put together the page and keep track of our activities. As a consequence, all the information, such as logs and characters, will be from a player perspective rather than a DM perspective.

CHANGES TO THEHOUSERULES:

Table set up – We need to change the table set up to facilitate better communication between players and the DM and to allow the DM better access to the battle mat. At our normal table, the DM needs to be able to set up on the side of the table closest to the sink and will take over about three seats. This should give the DM access to everyone at the table and should speed up combat and game play.

Initiative – This is not new; we have been playing the last two sessions with this change. But, just to clarify the change: Each player will roll individual initiative. The DM will begin the count from the “High Twenties.” Whoever has the highest initiative will go first and the DM will count down until everyone that is paying attention has an opportunity to respond. D&D rounds are 6 seconds each. This does not allow a lot of time to decide what you are going to be doing in the round. Also, any long delay deciding what your character will be doing will slow down the combat and make it less fun for other players. The DM will give the player a reasonable amount of time to declare what they are going to do. If the player does not respond in this time frame, the DM will advance the initiative to the next player or monster. If a player is skipped due to not being prepared, he may declare an action in the same round on a different/lower initiative number when ready as long as the DM has not declared the end of the round and has asked the party to roll for a new initiative. If the player does not declare before the new initiative, they have lost their action for this round.

Talking in character during combat – The DM encourages the party to operate and coordinate together. As has been seen from many, many, and, you guessed it, many encounters, this is essential to your survivability and success. However, combat rounds in D&D are 6 seconds long. Players are not going to be able to formulate and discuss the merits of an action or plan in much detail during this time frame. Please limit the information you wish to pass on in character to one short and quick sentence during a combat round. If it is not your turn, feel free to quietly discuss possible character actions with other party members out of character. Please remember as a courtesy to other players that the room is usually loud and the DM and other players have a hard time hearing what other players are doing in the combat round.

Dice rolling – Dice rolling in D&D is where players determine the level of success for an action. This can be very suspenseful and add to the over all enjoyment of the game. To make the dice rolls for our game fun, suspenseful, and exciting for all players, they should be shared with the group. To make this work there will be two designated rolling areas for player to roll their dice. Once rolled, players do not touch their dice until they tell the DM what their roll is with modifiers or not as is required. The player’s dice will need to be easy to read by everyone. Once the player has announced what the dice roll is,modified or unmodified as required, they can pick up their dice from the designated roll area. The DM encourages the players to roll damage dice with their attack dice to speed up game play. If the above sequence is not followed, the DM reserves the right to ask for a re-roll from the player. The DM also is not required to share his dice rolls with the players. Although I am usually not adverse to showing you my dice rolls on occasion.

The Young, the Old, and the Diggers

The Young, the Old, and the Diggers
Comments

This is fun stuff Andy, great writing and I felt like I was there (but regrettably was not). Also, this group is showing some very inventive strategies. Can’t wait to get back in. Thanks for keeping the game journal.